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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26784529">How to Date the First Mate</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaandabiccie/pseuds/teaandabiccie'>teaandabiccie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha Monkey D. Luffy, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Omega Roronoa Zoro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:35:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,735</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26784529</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaandabiccie/pseuds/teaandabiccie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Luffy cocked his head to the side. "Mate?"</p><p>"Your omega?"</p><p>Understanding dawned on Luffy. "Oh, you mean Zoro? If we had a first mate, he would be it. But when I asked about his role on the ship, he said he'd be ship's swordsman so I guessed he didn't want to be called that."</p><p>The old man shot him a look. "No. Not... No." He sighed, shaking his head. "I meant mate."<br/>-<br/>An encounter with an old man on a mystery island enlightens Luffy about his feelings for his first mate. Fortunately, the old man provides him with a handy guide for how to court an omega. Unfortunately, Zoro is as dense as Luffy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>186</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>How to Date the First Mate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Do I need another WIP? No. Do I need to write another One Piece ABO fic? Also no. But I had a lot of ideas that wouldn't work with my other one so... here we are. Something lighter, fluffier and a bit lower in rating!</p><p>Readers of Kintsukuroi, my other OP ABO fic, might find this Luffy written with a bit more innocence here.</p><p>Watchers of the anime might have noticed I set this after Alabasta. We begin on Goat Island. Readers of the manga: you definitely don't need to have watched that filler arc to understand this chapter.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Luffy sat on top of the roof he had helped Usopp patch up earlier, surveying the island like it was his own. It wasn't. Islands didn't belong to anybody and if it could be considered to belong to anyone then it would be the old man's. Or the goats'. Probably the goats' since they thought of the old man as theirs anyway. His crew lay scattered haphazardly around a campfire that was now burning low. Some had blankets, some didn't. At some point in the night, both Robin and Nami had gained an extra blanket. Sanji and Zoro were missing theirs. Chopper was curled up as close to Sanji as possible, the cook's face pressed into the warm fur of his back.</p><p>Luffy's blanket was under Nami's head, acting as a pillow but he didn't mind. He had fallen asleep immediately after eating and he was done sleeping now anyway. Considering everyone was asleep, it must have been somewhere between four and five in the morning, probably closer to four because the sun hadn't started rising yet. That was one hour too early to wake Sanji up for breakfast, no matter how ravenously hungry he was. Sanji would not get up to make breakfast until five.</p><p>But it was really boring when nobody was awake. Boredom only made Luffy hungrier. He considered briefly looking for shapes in the clouds but there were none to be seen. Counting the stars was a technique for falling asleep, not waking up, and that was equally as boring as just sitting here.</p><p>His eyes drifted back down to his crew in time to catch Usopp rolling over and raising his finger like he had a really great point to share. Then dropping it directly onto Nami's chest.</p><p>Surprisingly, she only grumbled in her sleep, violently shoving the hand away and rolling away, blankets and all, until she found Chopper, who became her new pillow. Chopper hugged her head, which apparently did not bother her.</p><p>"I have 8000!" muttered Usopp.</p><p>His nakama were funny even when they were sleeping.</p><p>He watched each of them in turn, finding not for the first time that his eyes automatically found and lingered on Zoro. Everyone else was laying down around the fire but Zoro had settled down further away from the rest of the group and was sleeping sitting up with his back against a tree and arms folded across his chest. Except it was a little bit less like they were folded and a little but more like he was hugging himself.</p><p>As Luffy watched, he noticed the way that Zoro's brows were furrowed even in his sleep. A shiver rolled down the swordsman's body. His shoulders shook lightly. Then stopped. He was very far away from the fire and it wasn't giving out much heat. He didn't have his blanket either. Was he cold?</p><p>Zoro could take care of himself. That had been what had made Luffy want to meet him in the first place. But for some reason, the thought of his swordsman and first mate being cold alarmed him. Luffy didn't like that. The urge to jump down and fix it was too strong to ignore.</p><p>So Luffy did. He hopped down, his rubbery body helping him make a quiet landing. Even so, he held his breath and froze in place, crouching where he had landed, knees bent to absorb impact. Ace had told him once that this was the best way to be sneaky and that if he was spotted, if he stayed very still, he might not be noticed.</p><p>Nami stirred but only to cuddle closer to Chopper and Sanji.</p><p>"Whew!" Luffy breathed a sigh of relief, spotting his blanket that had been rejected by Nami now just sitting there, near enough to the fire to not be cold.</p><p>Well, if Nami wasn't using it right now and it was Luffy's blanket anyway then she couldn't be too mad if he gave it to Zoro, right?</p><p>"Right!" mumbled Usopp. "No, Zoro, that's left. You're fired from the Usopp Army."</p><p>Luffy picked his way over to the blanket, scooping it up without disturbing anybody. That done, he raised it to his face, automatically breathing in its scent. Nami hadn't been using it for long because it didn't really smell that much like her. Wrapping it around himself like a cape, he took three careful stretched-out steps over to where Zoro was sleeping, making sure to rub his face against the blanket before anything else.</p><p>To give it some of his warmth of course. And to make it smell right. For some reason, the thought of giving Zoro a blanket that smelled like Nami - even though it didn't really, even though Nami smelled like tangerines and tangerines were food so she therefore smelled pretty good - felt wrong. It needed to have his scent only. Probably it was a captain thing. Robin might know if he asked her but it wasn't important to know anyway.</p><p>All he needed to do was to wrap the blanket around Zoro's shoulders and gently tuck him in. Zoro was a deep sleeper unless threatened and Luffy definitely didn't present a threat to him so he knew he wouldn't be waking the swordsman up. Still, something about the chilled skin he brushed with his fingers made him want to approach this gently, made him want to smooth down the blanket over him so it would be extra warm.</p><p>It occurred to Luffy that Zoro would be even warmer if he cuddled up to him under the blanket. Sitting was boring. Napping was boring when you had only just woken up. But there was an hour before breakfast. And napping with Zoro was different. Zoro was warm in every way it was possible to be warm. Being near him always felt good. Zoro was Zoro and that meant he was the best nap location that there was.</p><p>Zoro stirred, snuggling into the blanket a little more and burying his nose in it. He gave a small contented sigh, tension releasing from his shoulders.</p><p>Suddenly, the decision was made for him. Luffy wriggled his way under the blanket. He didn't sit in Zoro's lap. Sometimes he would but mostly that was Chopper's space. And it wasn't what he wanted right now anyway. He didn't want to nap on Zoro. He sort of wanted to be Zoro's nap space. He squeezed his arm into the space between Zoro and the tree, shifting the swordsman's weight until Zoro was leaning against him as well.</p><p>The swordsman's warmth flooded his body. His skin tingled. He lightly hummed his appreciation, letting his chin rest on Zoro's shoulder and breathing in the swordsman's perfect scent. He'd been told that most omegas smelt good. Luffy was an alpha and he was supposed to be attracted to omegas who smelled like sweet things, appetising things, things that made the mouth water. (He'd never met one who smelt like meat though) Zoro's scent wasn't like that. Zoro smelled like Zoro. Zoro's scent was home.</p><p>He wondered not for the first time what Zoro would taste like if he just opened his mouth and...</p><p>"Mmmmm?" said Zoro as Luffy unconsciously pressed his nose against the swordsman's neck.</p><p>He began to shift, Luffy's chin falling off his shoulder. "Shhh!" Luffy said quickly, before he could move too far.</p><p>"'Uffy?" One of Zoro's eyes began to crack open. "What-? 'S it morning already?"</p><p>"No," said Luffy, "I'm sleeping with you."</p><p>"Oh," said Zoro, his eye fluttering closed again. "Good."</p><p>Whether it was good because it wasn't morning or good because Luffy was here, he didn't specify but Luffy hoped it was the latter. Within an instant, Zoro's breathing evened out again and he was asleep, his head falling to the side and onto Luffy's shoulder.</p><p>Luffy automatically stiffened, sitting very still like he would if a cat had suddenly chosen him as their seat, not wanting to disturb him in case he moved.</p><p>Zoro sighed, his warm breath tickling Luffy's neck and making his face feel suddenly warmer that it should do. Then he shifted again, pressing his own nose into the side of Luffy's neck the way that Luffy had done to him earlier. It tingled. It sent a sudden swell of warmth through his insides. Reflexively, he wrapped his arms around Zoro in response, pausing to rearrange the blanket around him. Zoro's hair tickled his cheek.</p><p>Their scents mingled in the air around them, creating a perfect blend of home and safe and good.</p><p><em>Mine.</em> The thought came to him unbidden.</p><p>"Mmm," hummed Zoro contendedly.</p><p>Luffy remembered wishing he could hear Zoro make that noise forever. And then he was sinking back into sleep.</p><p>-</p><p>In the morning, Luffy woke to two of his all time favourite things: breakfast and Zoro. In the time they had been sleeping, Luffy had shifted so that instead of the tree, he was lying flat on the ground. Zoro's head was tucked under his chin and his arms were wrapped firmly around the swordsman's back. Their legs were entangled underneath the blanket which somehow had managed to remain tucked around Zoro's shoulders. He could feel the warm puff of Zoro's slow breathing against his skin.</p><p>The swordsman was still asleep. That complicated things. The smell of meat and the sound of hushed conversation mingled with the scent of sleeping Zoro. Normally, Luffy would simply sit up and rocket over to the breakfast zone, regardless of who might be in his path or who he might have draped himself over in his sleep. He'd woken Usopp up doing that on many mornings; the sniper said he minded but he never remembered he did once breakfast had been eaten.</p><p>However, <em>Zoro</em> was sleeping on <em>him</em> this time. He was warm and cozy and Zoro smelled like the warmest and coziest thing Luffy could imagine. The feeling was not unlike when he had just eaten an amazing meal and wanted to just lay back and bask in it. Except the meal was outside of this cuddle. And what he wanted to bask in was the presence of his first crew member. Moving meant no basking. Not moving meant no breakfast.</p><p>His face reflected his dilemma. He turned his head in the direction of the campfire and what was sure to be an incredible breakfast because every breakfast made by Sanji was excellent and considering all they were doing for the sick old man they were staying with, this one was sure to be extra-amazing. The cook had been putting additional effort into getting the best ingredients on the island and preparing a variety of different dishes. If the old man was going to die then his last meal should be something great and every meal could be a feast.</p><p>He expected to see the rest of the crew all hanging around the fire, maybe already starting to eat to take advantage of him not being there to steal from their plates when their attention was distracted. He did not expect to see several pairs of eyes looking in his direction.</p><p>A hush descended upon the camp. Luffy blinked, reflexively tightening his grip on Zoro's waist. Zoro remained oblivious to anything outside of his dreams.</p><p>The old man, who had been sitting in a chair with a steaming mug in his hands, broke the silence by clearing his throat. It turned into a rumbling cough. Collectively, the crew held their breaths. Chopper was at his side immediately.</p><p>"Are you-" the doctor began.</p><p>The old man pushed him to the side, taking a gulp of his drink then panting. "Hot! Hot!"</p><p>Robin handed him a glass of water, which he gulped gratefully then practically threw back in her direction. She caught it without issue. Beside her, Nami's eyebrow twitched at his lack of care or manners.</p><p>"Alright lovebirds," said the old man, slapping his hands down on his thighs. "Time to get up! I've got a long list of chores for you to do today." He finished his sentence with a loud laugh. "Breakfast time!"</p><p>Two birds flew out of a nearby tree, startled by the sudden loud noise. Cradled in Luffy's arms, Zoro groaned and shifted. Luffy felt a pang of <em>something</em> through his chest as the swordsman, still mostly asleep, made an attempt at rolling away.</p><p>"Don't wanna," Luffy muttered into Zoro's hair. Now that the decision had been made for him, he naturally wanted to make the other choice. It was probably just who he was, Dadan had said it once. Doing things just to be awkward. That might have been said about Ace, actually, but it didn't matter. The thought of letting Zoro go got a resounding <em>no</em> from something inside him.</p><p>"Mmm?" said Zoro. His hand came to rest on Luffy's chest as he attempted to push himself up, eyes blearily beginning to open.</p><p>Luffy reliquinished his grip. Not because he wanted to but because if Zoro wanted to go then he knew he shouldn't stop him. It didn't mean he had to like it.</p><p>Except he should like it, because it meant breakfast. This was something to puzzle over later.</p><p>"It's morning?" mumbled Zoro, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes.</p><p>"Breakfast!" boomed the old man again, surprisingly loudly for a person whose heart was supposedly failing. "Get this day underway - I'm not getting any younger!"</p><p>"Not getting any deader either," muttered Zoro under his breath.</p><p>Just like that, Luffy's disappointment from moving evaporated. He laughed even though he knew he shouldn't. And laughed harder when Zoro turned to look at him in surprise, clearly not having expected anyone to hear. A blush crept across his cheeks and he looked very pointedly away. Luffy wanted to touch it, to cup Zoro's face in his hand and run his thumb along the red flush of his cheek.</p><p>"For today's breakfast, we have sea king fillets and sea food frittatas with seasonal vegetables," said Sanji, to Nami, Robin and the old man, ignoring Usopp and Chopper entirely.</p><p>Today, Luffy decided, was going to be a great day.</p><p>-</p><p>"Boy!" called the old man as Luffy rocketed off the roof of his cabin, using a nearby tree as leverage.</p><p>Usopp shouted something about doing more damage than they'd fixed but Luffy was already skidding to an early stop and turning his head to look at the old man, pausing only to straighten his straw hat.</p><p>The old man approached him with the slow gait of the aged, determination in his eyes. He didn't look like a person who was going to die very soon. But then again, what did people who were going to die very soon look like when they didn't know they were going to die? That was a thought a Luffy didn't want to pursue. So instead of following it, he cocked his head to the side and said:</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"Take a walk with me. Let's have a talk, one old alpha to another." The old man grabbed his arm and was clearly not going to take no for answer.</p><p>Luffy shot a look of confusion at Robin, who was also an alpha and had been considerably closer to the old man physically than Luffy had been. She sent a knowing look back but it didn't share what she knew. He shrugged and went with the man. He couldn't turn him down after all. Old men did tend to like to share their stories. And mostly to younger men, who didn't really care about them. Sometimes it was worth trying to care. Some people had great stories.</p><p>So Luffy let himself be led across the island of goats. The two of them walked far enough that Luffy began to wonder if it was alright that they had come this far. The old man's breathing became increasingly more laboured until they reached the edge of the island, where two logs had been laid close to the edge of the cliff. The old man sat down on one of them with a groan, swiping sweat from his brow.</p><p>"Old man," said Luffy, "are you okay?"</p><p>The old man chuckled. "I might be old but I've got some life left in me yet."</p><p>Except that according to Chopper that life was a couple of days at most. Luffy shifted uncomfortably but said nothing, staring out at the ocean.</p><p>"I've lived a long time," said the old man.</p><p>"Yep," Luffy agreed.</p><p>The old man clonked him on the back of his head. "I've lived a long time so I've known a lot of people and I've seen a lot happen to those people. So I know the signs."</p><p>Luffy lifted his gaze from the sea to the man and gave him his mostly undivided attention. If it was important to the old man to tell him this then it was important for Luffy to listen to it.</p><p>"That mate of yours will come into heat soon. What do you intend to do about it?"</p><p>Luffy cocked his head to the side. "Mate?"</p><p>"Your omega?"</p><p>Understanding dawned on Luffy. "Oh, you mean Zoro? If we had a first mate, he would be it. But when I asked about his role on the ship, he said he'd be ship's swordsman so I guessed he didn't want to be called that."</p><p>The old man shot him a look. "No. Not... No." He sighed, shaking his head. "I meant <em>mate</em>."</p><p>Luffy just looked at him, waiting for the rest of the sentence.</p><p>He heaved a bigger sigh, running his hand through surprisingly bushy hair. "You know? Alpha and omega? Bonding? Mate. I didn't see your mark on him anywhere but seeing you all cuddled up this morning, I could've sworn you were at least together. I was gonna offer you a private place to spend his heat."</p><p>"Oh," said Luffy, fidgeting where he sat.</p><p>He'd heard a lot of talk about this before he had set out on his adventure. First, when Ace had presented and then we he'd gone through his own presentation. Some of it had been more acceptable than other parts of what he'd been told, but all in all, being An Alpha had seemed like something that someone as free as the pirate king shouldn't have to worry about. He didn't want to chase after omegas. He didn't care for sex. He'd never seen anyone who inspired those sorts of feelings in him before, never picked up any scent that made him want to sink his teeth into someone, never fantasized about being in charge or being begged or anything of the kind that the bandits talked about when they didn't think he was listening.</p><p>So he simply didn't. And everyone on his crew (even Sanji, who flirted but didn't <em>do</em>) seemed to think the same - that the adventure was the only mate they really needed.</p><p>He opted to reply with honesty. "We're not really like that. Mating and stuff, it's not important."</p><p>The old man grinned. "Ohoho? So it's just a heat share. Sex with no ties... Didn't really have you pegged for that type but it fits the pirate lifestyle, that's for sure."</p><p>"It's not anything," said Luffy, beginning to bristle. "Nobody touches Zoro."</p><p>The old man raised an eyebrow. "That's not what it looked like this morning. Oh well, guess the poor lad will have to find his heat relief from someone else."</p><p>An old anger began to boil in his belly at what the old man implied. A bad taste filled his mouth at the thought of Zoro asking someone else for something like that, having someone else caress his skin, play with the three earrings dangling from his ears, hold him flush against their body and then-</p><p>"Nobody. Touches. Zoro," he growled.</p><p>The old man raised his hands in semi-mocking surrender. "Alright, alright. Never said I was gonna make a move on him. But if you don't then someone else will."</p><p>"Zoro doesn't want that," Luffy shot back, the bad taste getting badder. His skin itched from the inside.</p><p>"How do you know that?" asked the old man, looking like a cat that had stolen the last piece of chicken from the table.</p><p>"I..." He didn't know that. Not really. He had just assumed that since Zoro had told him what his biggest dream was, since Zoro had let him tie their dreams together, that Zoro didn't care for anything else. They had never discussed it. They hadn't even discussed his heat.</p><p>"If he does want that and he finds someone else, how are you going to feel about it?"</p><p>Luffy felt sick. Images flashed before his eyes of Zoro in bed with a mystery alpha, cuddling them instead of him, everything about his sculpted body relaxed, every movement languid and carefree. They would be in a bed, not on a ship because Zoro was perfect and the mystery alpha wouldn't want to share him. Even though Zoro was <em>his</em>, <em>his</em> swordsman, <em>his</em> first mate, and he had <em>promised</em>, if he was mated to the mystery alpha then they could make Zoro leave the crew and then... He ached inside. He wanted to go back to this morning when it had been him cuddling up to Zoro, having his hair (surprisingly soft) pressed against his cheek, his soft breathing tickling his collar bones, the warmth of his body pressed to his own as their scents intermingled oh so perfectly in a way that made him never want to leave.</p><p>
  <em>Oh.</em>
</p><p>He was the mystery alpha.</p><p>Except he wasn't yet. But he wanted to be. The feeling consumed him, formed a hole in the pit of his stomach that ached.</p><p>The old man sighed, his next words surprisingly soft despite the grating tone of his hoarse voice. "The beli finally dropped?"</p><p>"I don't want Zoro to leave or find somebody else," replied Luffy, feeling his heart squeeze in his chest. "I have to be his mystery alpha."</p><p>The old man gave him an odd look, then shook his head slightly and sighed again. "Well, luckily for you, I can teach you exactly how to court an omega. If you do as I say, I can guarantee he'll be yours in a set of simple steps. One old alpha to the next generation. I only ask that you put it to good use and pass the knowledge down when the time comes."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading!</p><p>I hope you enjoyed!</p><p>As always, I love to hear any thoughts you might have in the form of comments (I promise I don't bite). I also take constructive criticism. You might find typos and formatting issues as I type a lot of my works onto my phone at the moment and directly into the draft on AO3. Do let me know if you spot anything that harms your enjoyment that you'd like me to fix.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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